Book Review by Marge Vorndam, Colorado Master Gardener

Review of
Nardi, James B., 2007.  Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Available from https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo5378396.html

James Nardi provides an in-depth review of soil organisms from all Kingdoms of Life, including their benefits to the soil habitat, and highlights the organisms with illustrations.  This book is written for the layman. It introduces us to a world that we don’t think about but is so very important to what we need to know to be adequate nurturers of this most important aspect of our lives. Below are some highlights of Nardi’s essential book for gardeners and agriculturalists.

In the preface Nardi writes:

Minerals from the soil nourish all creatures during their lives; and unto minerals of the soil all creatures ultimately return at their deaths. A soil is not fertile and complete until creatures occupy it and contribute their organic portion to the mineral portion of the soil….a definition of soil that covers these attributes very well is “a dynamic natural medium in which plants grow made up of both mineral and organic materials as well as living forms.

Thus begins Nardi’s book on what biota are found in soils and what roles they have in perpetuating the fertility of soils.  A lack of understanding of how small creatures contribute to the health of soils ignores their importance in growing the plants we love. The information presented in the book provides the knowledge that will create a rich environment for our efforts to grow plants successfully and perpetuate a healthy world for our pursuits involving soils.

In Nardi’s words,

“This book is divided into three parts.

Part 1, “The Marriage of the Mineral World and the Organic World,” explains how organisms are specially adapted for life underground and examines their relationship with the chemical and physical properties of soils.

Part 2, “Members of the Soil Community,” considers the contributions of particular groups of creatures to soil communities.

Part 3, “Working in Partnership with Creatures of the Soil,” discusses ways to enrich the soil of our farms and gardens, including how to start a backyard compost pile.”

This book speaks to
Introduction:
Soil Formation and Characteristics
Plant Roots and their Bacterial Partners, Fungal Partners
Where Roots meet Rocks and Minerals – Soil Chemistry
Plant Roots and their Animal Partners – p. 27 Fig 14 (see below)
How Plants and Animals affect the Layers of a Soil – Soil Horizons, humus creation

Example Members of the Soil Community:
Microbes-bacteria, actinomycetes, protozoa, slime molds, nematodes

“Microbes are organisms that cannot be easily viewed without a microscope. These organisms easily outnumber all other organisms of the soil ….”

Animal Kingdom

Invertebrates: Flatworms, Roundworms, Potworms, Earthworms, Snails and Slugs, Rotifers, Tardigrades

Insects: Insect larvae, beetles

Arthropods:  mites, spiders, springtails, collembola

Vertebrates: Salamanders, snakes, frogs, turtles, insectivorous birds, burrowing owls, badgers, ground squirrels, moles, mice

Plant Kingdom: Algae, Lichens

Fungi:

“Since the thin fungal strands can also grow into tinier spaces of the soil than can plant roots, the fungi can tap resources that are otherwise inaccessible to roots, sending backwater and a variety of minerals to the plant.”

From Nardi, James B. 2007. Life in the Soil – A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners.
U Chicago Press, Chicago.

Working in Partnership with Creatures of the Soil
“Humans have transformed between 1/3 to ½ of the earth’s surface with urbanization, tilling, logging, and grazing….

The great issues facing our environment—locally and globally—are linked to the innumerable organisms that live underground…Countless reciprocal interactions between life belowground and life aboveground shape the world in which we live.”

Nardi then introduces us to the elements of soil care that we can each contribute to maintaining a healthy soil environment at each of our locales.  Healing the soil begins at home.

This book informs us of the importance of the underground components of the earth and how we depend on them for life.  It’s a great synopsis worth reviewing by every gardener in our midst.